


Strong Enough

by WhenInDoubtSleep



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender, vld - Fandom
Genre: Blade of Marmora Keith (Voltron), Didn't Know They Were Dating, Fight Scene, Friends to Lovers, Hostage Situation, I don't know how to tag this, Kidnapping, M/M, Sad, Violence, Voltron, but they don't, hero!keith, keith saves the day, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-29 02:48:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15720432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhenInDoubtSleep/pseuds/WhenInDoubtSleep
Summary: When Lance is taken as a hostage during a mission, Keith almost loses him. Remember, no good plan ever started with the words, let's split up.“Did you really take a bullet for me?” His voice quiet, he looks up, meeting Keith’s violet eyes.“Four..."





	Strong Enough

For the record, a plan that starts with the words, let’s split up, is never a good plan. It was a pretty standard mission. The castle of lions had received a communication indicating that a small jungle planet wanted to meet to discuss joining the coalition.

For these kinds of missions, it was standard to only send a couple of the paladins, and unfortunately, they were spread thin these days. So here they were, Allura, Lance, and Keith were all sitting in the black Lion.

“Remember, Keith. The Jungle is too dense for the lion to fly through. We will have to travel into the kingdom-”

“On foot. I got it, Allura,” Keith muttered, eyes scanning for a section of jungle clear enough to park. He had a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach, and it only got worse as they descended into the thick trees, a weird purplish color that looks unnatural to the boy who had grown up in Texas.

The landing was relatively smooth, and he scooped up his bayard, sighing annoyedly.

“Why am I here again?” He requested, glaring at both Allura and Lance.

“Well, you’re our muscle, Kogane. We need you in case someone has to beat some sense into these aliens!” Lance says, and his words are only half untrue, but Allura gives him an annoyed glance anyway.

“Well, you are the leader of the paladins of Voltron. Most people would like to meet the man in charge.” She says, and Lance mouths _bodyguard_ behind Allura’s back as the exit the lion.

“Well, I’m not really in the mood for talking,” Keith says, voice low.

“Keith, you’re holding my bayard, you know,” is the only response that he gets, and Keith looks down warily, handing the red bayard over to Lance. It was still a reflex to reach for it. He pulls out his blade then, watching it morph into a sword before cutting his way through the lavender jungle.

“Keith, it is quite insensitive of you to be cutting their vegetation. What if these plants are sacred to the Varswubbles?” Allura asks, and Keith just grunts, slashing still.

“Jesus, what’s got your panties in a twist today? Angry that you have to come with us when you could be out on blade missions?” Lance says, trying to joke, but only annoying Keith more.

“Shut up, Lance.” a deeper cut to the next tree.

They continue in silence for a while before Lance starts talking again, ranting about how cool it would be if the Amazon was purple. Keith wanted to claw his own ears off to make Lance stop.

Soon, they were paces away from the gated city.

“That is odd. The gate is open,” Allura notes, and Keith’s eyes narrow as he raises his sword higher, “There is no need for that, Keith. They know that we are set to arrive, perhaps they have left the gate open for us,” she reasons.

“Yeah, Keith. This whole ‘stab first, questions later’ approach is really not good for our public relations. You should really stop threatening innocent alien spe-”

“Lance, I quiznaking swear.” he practically glared.

It quickly became apparent that no one was at the gate. Keith’s eyes narrowed as he surveyed the walled city, a maze of tall buildings built into the trees.

“Well, that’s weird. Where is everybody?” Lance asked, walking forward casually, and Keith moves forward quickly, placing himself in front of Lance.

“Stop. it isn’t safe.” He says, still holding his sword up, analyzing the ghost town.

“Please, you think you’re going to save me with your sword? My bayard is a gun, Keith, _honestly_.” Lance says, rolling his eyes, and his bayard does turn into a gun, “I should be protecting you, Mr. grumpy face.”

“God, lance. I’m going to kill you in about one tick,” Keith seethes, staring him down. Lance rolls his eyes, still grinning.

“I think it would be best for us to split up,” Allura offers, her own bayard transforming into a gun, “I’ll go right, Lance go left, Keith down the middle. Keep on your comms and look for anyone who can explain what has happened here,”

“Absolutely not,” Keith says, but the other two are already walking in their prospective directions, “Allura no. Lance, _stop_ … I thought I was in charge here.” he pleads, and Lance looks back at him, still walking towards the sea of buildings.

“Honestly, mullet. You worry too much. It’s fine.” He says, looking ahead.

And as he watches both Allura and Lance disappear into the unknown city, he starts forward, keeping close to the buildings in order to avoid being spotted. He kept his eyes high, looking for a sniper or something.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” He whispered into his comm, waiting for any kind of response.

“Please, Mullet. You’re being so dramatic,” Lance says a moment later, “Maybe they’re all at church or something. Is it Sunday?”

“Lance, Aliens don’t have church,” He snaps

“Well, mullet. I don’t think we can know that. They probably believe in some cool Alien rain god or something,”

“Please, Lance. We’re looking for citizens,” Allura responds, and Keith huffs.

All of the buildings are empty, smoothe wood exteriors with empty insides. His stomach twists, but he keeps quiet, not desiring for Lance to speak anymore.

His feet sink into the mossy ground as he walks, leaving a trail of footprints behind him. Looking forward, he thinks that he can see the castle, a large, stone-like building that stands out against the unending purple.

“Guys, I found the castle. I’m gonna go in and-” _bang_.

Keith crouches, pressing flat against the building he is nearest to, adrenaline shooting through his body. He looks around frantically, trying to find the source of the noise. It takes a moment for the reality to set in, and he swallows thickly.

“This is the black paladin. Check in, are you both alright?” He demands, forcing his voice to remain calm.

“This is the blue paladin, I’m alright.” He hears Allura immediately, and then silence.

“This is the black paladin calling the red paladin, come in.” He tries again, but his heart tries to escape his chest. He is met with silence.

“Lance. Lance, come in.” He tries again, voice sounding strained, when there is still no answer, he starts sprinting towards the castle, staying close to the wall.

“Allura, I’m going to find Lance. Stay close and on your comm in case I need backup.” He says, voice tight.

He feels vulnerable, the space around the castle is free of trees. He has lost his cover, and he could really use Lance’s bayard right now. He looks toward the direction that Lance should be in.

He starts sprinting, running recklessly through the maze of trees, desperate to find the younger paladin. Everything looks fuzzy, his body overflowing with adrenaline. As the minute’s tick by, he still hasn’t found Lance, and panic is rising in his stomach, taking over his insides.

“Lance, please come in.” He says again into the comm, hoping that the boy had come to in the last ten minutes. The image of Lance laying somewhere bleeding out (or worse) kept creeping into his head, and he couldn’t stop the hollow feeling in his chest.

And then, his blood freezes, his entire body seizing up as he hears the most bloodcurdling scream. His head shoots up, and he knows which building Lance is in. But now, it’s clear that they are not alone, and that he is walking into a fight.

“I’m coming,” Keith whispers, so quietly that no one can hear, and he throws the door open, looking around at the empty room, scanning for any hostiles in the area. His eyes settle on the stairs, and he makes his way up, pausing on the stairs just low enough to listen.

“When will your friend be here, blue paladin?” The voice is low and jagged, and Keith sucks in a breath.

“I already _told_ you. I’m the red paladin, you quiznaking idiot!” And from here, he can hear the drows pain in Lance’s voice.

There’s a smack followed by a whimper, and Keith flinches, his body overheating with his rage. No one hurts my LLance.And he sprints up the stairs, eyes settling on the first galra, and he slashes quickly, slitting his throat before the galra even realizes that he’s there.

And then there’s just darkness. Keith thrashes, spinning around and swinging his sword. He is greeted by deep laughter.

“Well, someone is feisty.” He says, and the voice is too close. He swings again, hand tightening on the blade.

“This is the day that I’ve been waiting for. Two paladins _and_ a blade member.” The galra’s voice is chilling, causing each of Keith’s muscles to tense.

“Lucky for you,” He seethes, and then he’s pulled by the bag over his head, the rope tightening on his throat. He coughs, stumbling inside. A pang of pain shoots up his left leg, and then his blade is gone, and he can see it shrinking to a dagger in his mind.

His wrists are tied so quickly that he isn’t even aware of when it happened, and then the bag is gone.

His eyes immediately settle on Lance’s crumpled figure. He’s tied to a chair in the corner, bleeding heavily from his neck, eyes drooping.

“Hey buddy,” He says, voice soft, “You definitely shouldn’t uh come ‘ere.” And Keith frowns deeply, glancing around the rest of the room. Three more galra, each holding a gun. One is pointed at Lance, and the other two at him.

Quiznak.

“We want your information on the blade, and then we’re going to end your lives.” the galra says, and Lance giggles across the room, eyes lifting to the tall purple man.

“Dude, the villain ‘s never supposed to outline ‘is plan. Duh,” Lance says, words slurring together slightly, and Keith is speaking before he’s even aware of what’s happening.

“Let him go, and I’ll tell you everything. You can have me.” He sounds braver than he expected, eyes still trapped on the tan boy across the room, bleeding to death.

“Ah, what a good leader, trying to save his men,” The galra mocks, and Keith turns bright red, turning to him, eyes narrowing.

“If you don’t let him go, I won’t give you anything. You can torture me to death, and I won’t give up anything,” He says, clenching his fists behind himself, pulling gently at the ropes, testing their strength.

“We took him because we knew you would come to his rescue. We were watching you. Such a protective leader. You didn’t seem so concerned about the princess,” And Keith flares, moving forward.

Sharp pain shoots through his shoulder in the soft spot where the armor ends. He bites his lip until the tang of blood fills his mouth.

_Think, Keith. Get Lance out._

“Well, you’ve got me. That was your goal. I’m here now. Let him go, and you can have every secret.”

“Now, red paladin. We both know that neither of you are getting out of here alive,” He says, and Lance huffs in the corner.

“I’m the red paladin, dumbass. Keith is the _black paladin_.” And Keith almost smiles at that, poor Lance trying to stick up for him while he’s dying in the corner.

“Please. I’ll cooperate. You can do anything with me. Just let him go,” and as the man opens his mouth, Keith dashes forward, changing his trajectory enough to throw all of the galra off, avoiding the shot that comes his way, hitting the other galra in the side.

“Ah! Karagin!” He snaps, turning to keith. Keith kicks. The gun hits the ground, skidding away. Keith falls to his knees, grabbing his knife behind his back, staring up at the galra.

“I didn’t think you were stupid, black paladin,” But Keith had freed his hands, and the dagger enlarges. Keith flies up, swinging his sword at the galra. Another shot hits his leg, but he keeps swinging, catching the galra’s chest, slashing his purple skin.

“I’m not,” He says, swinging mercilessly, trying to avoid the firing guns. Slash after slash, he spins, catching pieces of flesh with his blade.

 _Bang_ , he cuts the galra’s wrist open. _Bang_ , the shot hits his armor, knocking the wind out of his lungs. _Bang,_ his leg is hit again, and calls out, sinking down to his knees. And then he throws, his sword sticking in the galra next to keith, and he rolls, grabbing Lance’s bayard from the ground where it had been discarded.

 _Bang_ , “NNNG,” He grunts in pain, his arm hit. But he shoots the gun, not stopping until both of the galra have fallen.

His chest heaves as he lays on the ground, dripping in blood.

The silence is welcome, and he closes his eyes for a moment, reveling in his success. He is jolted out of his calm when he remembers that Lance is dying beside him. The boy is nearly asleep, and Keith jumps to his feet, hissing at the burn of his skin.

He pulls his blade from the chest of Lance’s guard before cutting the ropes that are tying the boy to his chair.

“Hey, lance. It’s me. We're gonna get out of here now, okay? I need you to stay awake for me though,” He says softly, picking up Lance.

“Seepy, Kei...can’t stay wake,” He forces out, and Keith grits his teeth, moving towards the stairs as quickly as he can manage, limping.

“No, Lance. Just a little longer, okay. I know it hurts. I know,” He says, biting back his whimpers as he limps down the stairs.

“‘Llura, come in. You need to get the Lion.” He says into his comm, muscles aching at the weight of his comrade.

“The Jungle is too thick, Keith. I do not think we can get through. And even if we could. The black lion knows that I am not its pilot,” Allura says, and Keith’s face pales.

“I’m going to the castle. I need that lion, Allura. Lance is...it’s not good,” He says to the comm, smiling down at the barely awake Lance.

It doesn’t take long for Keith to get there, stumbling along uselessly. He collapses on the stairs, body hovering above Lance’s.

“Hey, lance. No, no closing your eyes,” he says, and the cuban boy frowns, reaching up to touch Keith’s hair.

“‘R you an angel?” He asks, and Keith sucks in a shaky breath, shaking his head.

“No, buddy. I’m not an angel. I’m Keith. You’re gonna be okay, just stay awake,” He says, voice shaky, he looks over his shoulder desperately, knowing that he won’t be able to make it to the lion on time with all of his injuries.

“Estás muy hermoso,” Lance breathes, and Keith grits his teeth, shaking his head.

“No, Lance. No. Look at me,”

“Todo es tan cálido,” lance responds dreamily, closing his eyes.

“Lance, stop. Stop that. You’re gonna be fine. ALLURA!” He calls out, pleading.

“¿Crees que voy a ir al cielo?”

“Lance, stop it. C’mon. You’re gonna be alright, okay?”

“Gracias. Te amo. Te amo,” And his voice fades sleepily.

“Please don’t. Don’t leave me. I need you, lance. You’re my right hand. You’re so important. Not like this, okay? Not because of me. Please not because of me. I… I can’t…” He trails off, his voice cracking, cheeks wet with tears. He holds Lance to his chest, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Please don’t leave me, Lance.” And Keith has never sounded younger, “I can’t do this without you, lance. Please.”

“buenas noches mi ángel.” And he goes slack in Keith’s arms.

“No!” He screams, voice broken. And then he hears in, the rustling of trees and a growl. He doesn’t look up as the black lion lands beside him, barely fitting in the space in front of the deserted castle.

Keith sniffles, standing up, still cradling Lance to his chest, getting inside the black lion.

“Allura if you aren’t in this lion in ten seconds. I will leave you,” He says, voice dark, and a moment later, he sees her running his way.

The second she is inside, Keith is pushing his lion as far as he can,  begging her to get them back to the castle of lions in time.

“Keith, you are injured,” She says, but Keith isn’t paying attention to her, focusing on the task at hand, clenching his teeth, adrenaline still pumping.

_This can’t be it. This can’t be it. We aren’t done yet. Not him too. Anyone else. Please, anyone else. Take anyone else._

Keith wasn’t sure who he was praying to. Whatever gods that may be were abandoning him, and the only thing he could think was, _please, not him_. When they got in, Allura helped Keith, they carried him to the healing pods, pushing him inside and turning it on.

“No no no, come on. Come on. He’s fine.” He begged, praying that Lance’s vitals were strong enough for him to be saved.

He hadn’t noticed the other Paladins coming in behind him as he kneeled on his knees in front of the healing pod, pleading quietly.

“Keith, you need to get in a healing pod.”

“I’m _fine_ Allura!” He snapped. God, how could she expect him to be so selfish. He needs to be there for lance. He needs to be there to protect Lance. He had already failed once.

“Keith, buddy. She’s right. You’re bleeding. Were you shot?” Hunk asks, trying to sound gentle.

“Four times. Twice in my left leg, one in my shoulder, and one in my hand,” He mutters, and then He’s being picked up.

Keith thrashes, scratching and kicking with wild eyes. He looks like a cornered animal, trying to escape.

“You aren’t doing anyone any good injured.” Hunk reasoned, forcing him in a healing pod before running it.

 

When Lance tumbled out of the healing pod two weeks later, he looks around disoriented, spotting Allura sitting on the ground beside a curled up figure.

“Oh! Lance! You’re awake.” She says, scrambling up and over to help steady him, “How are you feeling?” She looks at his now healed neck where his skin is lighter, scarred from the shot.

“‘M alright. What happened?” He asks, and he blinks a few times, shielding his eyes from the light.

“You were shot in the neck. Keith saved you, but only barely. You’ve been out for many quintents. I believe it is equivalent to two months...no weeks? In your time?” But Lance wasn’t paying attention, his eyes trained on the boy laying on the floor, curled in on himself.

“He refused to go to his bed. He wanted to be here, in case you woke. He… he has been struggling.” She says, her voice quiet, and Lance frowns, walking over to him, kneeling down.

Keith’s face was contorted, and Lance sits, leaning over him.

“Keith? Keith, wake up.” He says softly, petting the boys hair. He thrashes then, rolling a bit.

“No mno, can’t don go. Can’t-”

“Keith!” He says louder, and the boy wakes with a gasp, shooting up and almost headbutting Lance.

“Woah, buddy. It’s okay. Just a nightmare.” Keith freezes at Lance’s words, turning to look at him, his face pained.

“No, it isn’t time yet.” He says, voice tight. Lance frowns, shaking his head.

“Time for what?” He asks, petting at keith’s mullet affectionately.

“You can’t leave me. It isn’t time yet,” And his eyes are glassy, wet with fresh tears.

“Keith, this is Lance,” Allura tries, speaking calmly, “You aren’t dreaming anymore. Lance is alright. He’s here.”

Keith frowns, head tilting to the side, “Lance?” He asks, and the younger paladin nods, his face confused.

“Yeah, buddy. I’m here. It’s okay,” He whispers, and then Keith is pulling him in for a bone crushing hug. Lance pauses before hugging him back, still petting his hair.

“There you go. It’s okay, Keith. I have you,” he assured, and the pale boy trembled in his arms, shaking with silent sobs.

“Hey, hey… Keith. It’s okay. What’s wrong, buddy?” He asks, rubbing his back gently, but Keith pulls back then, staring at him, violet eyes clouded with pain.

“I… I thought I lost you. They kept shooting a-and it took too long. And they hit me too many times but you were-were bleeding. And-and then I-I couldn’t get to the lion. And you… you were speaking in spanish. And y-you kept calling me a-” And then he sobs, hiding his face in his hands.

Lance doesn’t know how to console the older boy, reaching out to pet his hair.

“Hey, Keith. It’s okay. I’m okay,” He tried, but Keith just cried harder, a crumpled mess on the floor of the room. His sobs echoed dryly in the hall, and Lance pulled him closer.

“Y-you kept calling me an angel. I-I couldn’t...I couldn’t do anything. And it was my-my fault. They wanted me. They just took you because they knew. They knew that I-I couldn’t leave you.”

“Keith, stop. It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t want to split up… we didn’t listen to you, okay? It could have been any of us, okay?” He says, pulling Keith’s hands from his face, looking him in his eyes.

“I would’ve gone in for you, too. You know that. We’re partners. We have to take care of eachother,” He says, and Keith is still crying.

“I...I thought that I lost you. I thought I was too late.”

The silence settles around them, and Lance just hugs him.

“But you weren’t. You saved me. I’m right here, okay?”

“I think you asked me about heaven,” He whispered, face paler than normal. And Lance flinched, shaking his head and holding Keith tighter.

“It doesn’t matter because you saved me,” He says, and Keith shook his head, taking in a ragged breath.

“I’ve never felt so helpless in my entire fucking _life,_ Lance. I….I didn’t. I fucking _love you_.” The words are tumbling out of his mouth before he could hold them in, and he freezes, squeezing his eyes shut.

There is tension in the room, but after what felt like a quiet eternity, Lance kissed his temple chastely.

“I love you too, mi ángel,” And Keith sucks in a breath looking up at him with wide eyes. But Lance just leans in, their lips connecting softly, each of them moving slowly, as if any sudden movements would shatter the other.

“I love you, Lance. Please don’t leave me,” Keith whispered against Lance’s soft lips, and Lance just giggles, shaking his head.

“Hey, it isn’t that easy to get rid of my, mullet,” He says, grinning down at him. After a minute, he frowned, the events finally beginning to sharpen in his memory.

“Did you really take a bullet for me?” His voice quiet, he looks up, meeting Keith’s violet eyes.

“Four...five if you count the one that hit my armor,” He responds, blushing a little, and Lance frowns deeply.

“You piece of shit! You should have just left me, jesus quiznaking christ. Four shots, Keith? _And then you carried me out of the fucking building? They hit your leg you dumbass. You shouldn’t have been putting weight on it!”_ By the end, Lance is yelling.

Keith just shrugs, leaning in to peck his lips gently.

“I didn’t care. It was just… you. There was nothing else. I couldn't think about anything but getting you safe.” He tried to explain, biting the inside of his lip.

“Don’t do that again, okay, mullet!? Next time, you let me die with honor and you _get out_.” He snaps, but Keith just lets out a breathy chuckle, shaking his head.

“No. I’d do it again. Every day, if it meant that… I dunno… I just… I’m not good with words, lance. Quiznak.”

Lance smiles, kissing him again.

“Thank you,” Is all he says before standing up, helping Keith up as well, leading him to his bedroom, holding him until he was fast asleep, tucked into Lance comfortably.

“Sleep well, mi ángel. I’ve got you.”


End file.
